Friday 29 August 2014
16h00—18h00Breakout Session 7
Fostering understanding through the power of sports, art, music and entertainment
Sports, arts, music and other forms of collective expressions of human values are an essential vehicle for messages of ethics and culture throughout the world. The impact that sports heroes and music and arts celebrities can have in building people’s awareness on critical global issues is very relevant. Their voices can be key in raising public support for fostering intercultural understanding and promoting a culture of tolerance and respect.
Since the beginning of his mandate, the High Representative of the UNAOC, Nassir Al-Nasser, stressed the importance of engaging the sectors of sports and various performing arts to change public perception and advocating for common values and social inclusion.
Although a new development for the UNAOC outside its traditional four pillars, this sector is quickly expanding through the creation of smARTe, a strategy to engage celebrities who are genuinely committed and perceived as real champions in promoting dialogue and understanding. smARTe focuses on events and projects that highlight the role of sports and performing arts while stressing UNAOC values.
The breakout session aims at raising the attention of participants and media at the Forum over this new field of engagement and its relevance in promoting the objectives of the UNAOC. Some of the voices of dialogue that the UNAOC will engage are ambassadors and amplifiers of intercultural tolerance, respect, and mutual understanding, who will debate concrete ways to foster understanding through the power of sports, art, music and entertainment. The session will be organized and moderated in a creative way, in an effort to promote interaction and go beyond the traditional separation existing between speakers and listeners.
POINTS OF DISCUSSION
- How art and sport can play a role in fostering understanding across culture;
- How to highlight stories of athletes and artists who have said “no” to racism and violence and “yes” to respect and understanding;
- What the UNAOC can do to gather together amplifiers of intercultural tolerance around the world
SESSION PARTICIPANTS
Moderator
(tbc)
Panelists
- Aleksander Simic, Composer, Serbia
- Nick Hatzoglou, Former Multicultural Football program Coordinator, Australian Football League, Australia
- Nigel Dickinson, International Photojournalist, UK